


Boyband

by Gorgeous Nerd (gorgeousnerd)



Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: 69 (Sex Position), Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, M/M, Male revue, Non-Famous Harry, Oral Sex, Stripping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 19:15:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13394436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gorgeousnerd/pseuds/Gorgeous%20Nerd
Summary: Nick leaned over to Daisy. "They're stripping singers?""Exactly," Daisy shouted back over the music.





	Boyband

**Author's Note:**

> I started this a million years ago. I can't even remember if it was before or after the hiatus started anymore, and I've had beta notes for nearly a year now, if that tells you anything. Anyway, if you're wondering what happens when a queer fandom person who isn't attracted to guys loves Magic Mike XXL and goes to a bunch of live male revues (Chippendales and Thunder from Down Under on multiple occasions, with Magic Mike Live happening next month), the answer is this.
> 
> Big, big thanks to onthehill for the beta/Britpick, to everyone who heard me talking about the 1D male revue AU on and off over the years and didn't give up on me entirely, and the Snowflake Challenge 2k18's "create a fanwork" day for finally dragging me across the finish line.

"You're joking," Nick said, looking up from his phone. "You want me to come look at naked men."

"Partially naked." Daisy was stretched out on the sofa opposite with Pig, who was huffing happily as Daisy pet her head.

"That's exactly my point. They're mostly naked, and they're taking their clothes off for straight women."

Daisy grinned. "There were men when I went. It's a show, love. And I think you'll enjoy it."

It was a show...with stripping men who put socks on their cocks. Daisy knew a bloke in it, so she had free tickets. But Nick didn't need help finding naked men to look at.

"I'll buy your drinks," Daisy said.

Nick huffed - not as happily or as dog-like as Pig was huffing - and rolled his eyes, but they both knew he would do it.

-

"'Boyband'," Nick said, reading the sign above the ticket booth. He was starting to see why Daisy had him in mind.

Daisy took an envelope from the booth. It didn't have her name on it; there was a drawn flower, but it wasn't a daisy.

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Your name isn't Rose."

"Inside joke." Daisy smacked a kiss on Nick's cheek. "Let's go inside, shall we?"

The theatre was small, but Nick had been in more disgusting places. He'd seen more disgusting theatres, actually. They were right up front, probably because of Daisy's tickets and inside connection. Nick shot Daisy a long-suffering look to get across his thoughts.

"Hush," Daisy said in response, patting Nick's arm.

"Did I say a word?"

"You don't have to do a thing you don't want to. Besides, they'll probably ignore you." Daisy stroked her hair. "They like the pretty girls."

Nick gave his own hair a nice pat. "They don't come much prettier."

Daisy followed through on her drink promise. Nick was into his second cocktail by the time the theatre was mostly full and the lights went down, which meant he was the slightest bit fuzzy and slightly more ready for the show.

Nick wasn't sure what he'd expected. He'd seen part of Magic Mike at Sadie's, so possibly some boys that looked like Channing Tatum and his ilk. Muscled, but probably small dicked. Thank you, steroids. Nick shuddered at the thought as the intro music began.

But then singing started on top of the music. 

Live singing.

Spotlights on the stage popped up, revealing five slight figures. They were short, and judging by their silhouettes, they worked out, but they weren't beefy and built. As the lights went up, Nick could see most of them were rather slim, actually. A couple of them had obviously skipped leg day.

The ladies in the audience just as obviously didn't care, if the screams were any way to tell.

Nick leaned over to Daisy. "They're stripping singers?"

"Exactly," Daisy shouted back over the music.

Unsurprisingly, the five men sang boyband covers: Take That, JLS, New Kids on the Block. Each one had their specialty. A very pretty one hit the high notes and played shy during the group chats. A baby David Beckham was the emcee and was the only one of the lads to have a full dance number. One with very blue eyes and cheekbones that could kill had a comedy skit, where he brought a girl onstage and asked her questions about the kinds of men she fancied. Another one was Irish and played guitar and seemed genuinely happy to have his shirt off the entire show.

And then there was Harry.

Harry was tall, leggy. He had long hair that an old Mills and Boon cover model would envy. He was sculpted but soft at the edges. He was funny and sarcastic and also sweet and apologetic. Nick learnt his name in about five seconds, partially because the others said it with exasperation so much, and partially because he was just the kind of man where names stuck.

He was obviously Daisy's friend. He very openly waved at her during the first song, and she waved back.

He also maybe winked at Nick, but it could have been a poorly-aimed shot at Daisy. Or so Nick thought until Harry had a solo number, and he came into the audience for a volunteer. The spotlight followed him, shining right in Nick's eyes, and in the time it took Nick's eyes to clear, Harry had stopped in front of their table...and held his hand out for Nick.

"You're joking," Nick said, for what felt like the millionth time that day.

Harry grinned. Off mic, he said, "You can say no if you don't want to."

There were a couple of things that most of Nick's friends knew: that he liked fit men, and that he loved making a complete fool of himself where people could watch. Daisy couldn't have set a better trap if she tried. She smiled innocently when he looked her way and gave him a little shove.

He hadn't drunk enough for this.

Still, Nick took Harry's hand and let him lead Nick to the stage. If the crowd was disappointed a clumsy gay man was taking the place a younger, slimmer girl could have, it wasn't reflected in the applause.

"Is this a no-touching situation?" Nick asked Harry as Harry directed him toward a chair in the center of the stage.

It was piped to the crowd when Harry said, "Oh, I expect you to touch." The crowd hollered their approval. It probably didn't hurt that Harry did his best smoulder in their direction.

Nick covered his face in his hands for a moment, but he sat in the chair.

The song Harry sang during Nick's subsequent humiliation was "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)". It was probably entirely for the "Am I sexual?" line, which not only brought loud screams from the audience, but allowed Harry the opportunity to be...well, sexual. The first time, Harry straddled Nick's lap and writhed around. The second time, Harry draped himself against Nick and pushed Nick's hand down over his abs and into his very tight boxer briefs.

Harry was not one of the small-dicked steroid set, put it that way.

He also wasn't the most skilled dancer in the world, like the other three lads who did harmonies toward the back of the stage, but unlike Baby Becks, who twirled around Harry's lap dance like it was nothing, he wasn't trying for technical prowess. And, to be fair, moves like getting on and off his knees like it was nothing and flipping his ridiculous hair about did more than enough for Nick.

When the song finished and Harry pulled Nick to his feet again, holding his hand up so he could receive generous applause, Harry leaned in to kiss his cheek and whispered in his ear, "And that's just the pre-show, if you'd like."

"Cheeky," Nick said, but he knew that his face was telling Harry that he was well up for it.

Harry laughed and led Nick off the stage again.

-

The show ended with proper introductions: pretty boy was called Zayn, Irish boy was Niall, Baby Becks was Liam, and cheekbones was Louis. Harry twirled around for his introduction, wearing gold boots, underpants, and a flower crown he'd found from god-knew-where. It was a nice show of his tattoos, at least. All the lads seemed to have terrible ones; Harry had one on his arm of a large-breasted mermaid with a visible pubic mound. Nick shouldn't have found it as endearing as he did.

There was a bit after the show where the audience could pay to have pictures with the lads onstage. Daisy looked at Nick when they announced it, and he said, "My dignity might be completely gone at this point, but at least I won't have pictures of its absence."

But of course, they stayed after; Daisy wanted to thank Harry for the tickets, and Nick...well, he wanted to see if Harry was actually interested in following through on his earlier comment. Harry hadn't said it for the audience to hear, but who knew how Harry got into his...mindset or character or whatever? Just because Nick rolled out of bed and went on radio didn't mean that was everyone's approach to performing.

A woman in all black appeared before the pictures were done and led Nick and Daisy backstage. The dressing room was quiet for a moment...and then the lads came in, whooping and yelling and pushing at each other. Liam had Louis on his back and was proceeding wherever he asked him to go, Zayn was filming them on his phone, and Niall was laughing at them. 

Harry was laughing, too...until he saw Nick sitting in a chair. Nick had specifically chosen the one with Harry's name on the back. Nick suspected a little of the way Harry looked at him was just how Harry was; his stare had intensity onstage as well. But there was a lot of an "I want to eat you up" element to it that didn't seem put on. 

Nick was a fan.

"Harry!" Daisy bounced over to Harry and wrapped him up in a hug, and the moment between Harry and Nick was broken. But in a good way. Harry hugged Daisy hard and, when she pulled back, gave her as much attention as he'd given Nick moments before. It said a lot about Harry that he seemed like a good friend to Daisy. Nick probably didn't have as many standards as he should sometimes, but "don't be a dickhead to my friends" was a solid and consistent one.

He was surprised, however, when Harry said, "And thank you, Daisy, for bringing Nick along." He turned to Nick and _held out his hand_ like they were just being introduced and Nick hadn't grazed Harry's cock with his fingertips as part of the show.

"It was my pleasure, believe me," Daisy said, grinning.

Nick shook Harry's hand. "You're a fan, I take it?"

"I am," Harry said. "I listened to your old shows all the time, and you were on nights when I first moved to London. Got me through a lot, those shows."

Nick was touched. Harry seemed very genuine for someone who also looked at Nick like he wanted to rip every single item of his clothes off. "Well, thank you," Nick said. And then, because he couldn't let it go, he added, "This show will probably get me through some lonely nights as well."

Harry beamed. "That's why I do what I do. Here, meet the others."

The others were just as nice and genuine as Harry. Nick didn't know why it surprised him. Maybe because he dealt with so many knobs as part of daily life. (Louis did make a snide comment about Moyles, but it was so obviously a joke that Nick wasn't the least bit offended.) Maybe it was because fit lads who could have their pick of women deigned to come down to an aging man's level, but whatever. Nick would take it.

They all changed - and before Nick looked away politely, he saw more cock in a few seconds than he'd seen in a while - and seemed ready for a night on the town. Liam asked, "Daisy? Nick? You coming?"

Before Nick could answer, Harry said, "I think I'm going to see them both home." His smile left no doubt about what he meant, and the way the others yelled variations on "OOH" in response meant that they followed along, too.

-

The thing was, Harry really did see Nick and Daisy back to Nick's. They had a couple of drinks and talked about how Harry knew Daisy; apparently, they'd modeled together on a couple of shoots and ran into each other around London all the time. Nick was apparently hanging out in the wrong circles. Daisy excused herself early, citing exhaustion.

Which left Nick and Harry alone.

But then Harry fell asleep on the sofa while Nick was using the toilet.

When Nick came out, Harry was drooling on Nick's sofa arm. Harry looked...peaceful. Nick worked enough to know that it wasn't a bad idea to wake Harry up and see if he really wanted orgasms - free time only happened so much - but he also worked enough to know that it wasn't good to disturb a man's sleep even for sex sometimes.

He opted to put a blanket over Harry and retire to his own bed, Pig on his heels.

-

The smell of food woke Nick up the next morning. When he stumbled blearily into his kitchen, there was Harry, wearing one of Nick's shirts and nothing else, cooking eggs.

"Didn't know I had eggs," Nick said. "Actually, didn't know I had pans, either."

Harry grinned. "How are you this morning?"

"Well rested, for a Sunday." To be fair, that had been his intention before Daisy had claimed his night. Sometimes, he needed to hide away from his friends and actually sleep. "I'm surprised you didn't dash off, night I gave you."

"I was the one who fell asleep."

"Didn't wake you up, did I?"

Harry laughed. "I really did want to fuck your brains out."

It was Nick's turn to cackle, partially to hide how much blood had flowed into his cock at that moment. "Did you now? I have a free day ahead."

Harry's eyes twinkled, but he said, "And I need to get to the theater in a couple hours. Matinee."

"You're having me on."

"Would you believe it's our most popular show of the week?"

Nick threw up his hands.

"But," Harry said, "matinee's over by four. We eat early, come back here..."

"Fuel for the night ahead?"

"Evening." Harry started scooping eggs onto a plate for Nick. "You have a breakfast show to do."

"Careful, young Harry," Nick said, accepting the plate once Harry held it out. "You might not be rid of me at this rate."

-

As it turned out, Harry didn't want to be rid of Nick. He insisted on dragging Nick to the matinee, and Nick had the unique pleasure of being backstage for a male revue.

(Harry had schooled him on the proper terms on the car ride over. It wasn't a strip show, and they weren't strippers. They were _male entertainers_. It was a good thing Harry already knew about Nick's lack of patience for movies because, when Harry had put emphasis on the term and Nick had stared at him blankly, Harry had just said, "You need to see the second Magic Mike.")

The show did seem to be busier than the one the night before, and Nick was surprised to see that was true, considering his first show had been a Saturday night. Nick was also surprised to see that Harry did bring another man onstage during his number. He even looked older than Nick and was balding, with slightly grey hair. Daisy had joked about Harry being a "dad hunter" the night before, much to Nick's pretend offense, but it really did seem true. Except Harry kept shooting looks to where Nick was peeking between the curtain, so he seemed to be a fairly loyal one.

Harry didn't linger in the dressing room afterward, although he was there long enough for Nick to get plenty of good-natured "didn't get enough last night" jibes from the others. Niall also mentioned that he'd be listening in the next morning, and Nick replied that he might call him for some on-air advice on pleasing ladies. Niall had seemed tickled by the idea.

And then Nick had whisked Harry back to his car, and they were away again.

-

"I don't know that I've ever had such a good curry," Harry said, stumbling into Nick's place after him with their bags of leftovers.

Nick puffed out his chest. "I know all the best places. Or my mates do. I have good taste in friends."

"That you do." Harry handed over the bags for Nick to put in the fridge. "Sorry about Daisy roping you in. She only did it because she thought it'd be a laugh."

"Oh, I know," Nick called from the kitchen. "Besides, I think we're both the lucky ones in this deal. Daisy only got to see your naked coworkers for free. She had to buy my drinks."

When he left the kitchen again, Harry was sprawled on one of Nick's sofas. Nick took a decent look. Harry had wonderful thighs, amongst other things. He was ready to see more of what Harry had to offer, and if Harry's look was any way to tell, he wanted to see some of Nick as well.

But when Harry put his hands on his shirt, Nick held up a hand.

"You've done plenty of teasing," Nick said. "It's my turn."

Nick threw on his best model look - he didn't have a stripper look in his repertoire yet - and inched the bottom of his shirt up, just for a quick tease. He was pretty sure he looked ridiculous, but Harry was staring raptly, so maybe it was exactly what Harry wanted to see.

The show stopped for a minute when Nick tried to drop trou and got his skinny jeans tangled in his Chelsea boots. Harry was dressed similarly, so he seemed sympathetic and got off the couch long enough to help Nick unzip his boots.

Nick got back to it shortly. He even remembered to take his socks off, which, he knew from multiple experiences, would be the ultimate boner kill. Harry drank in the sight of Nick's thighs like it was something to see. Which they were, naturally, but Nick was maybe a little blasé from seeing them every day.

"Can I touch?" Harry said, his voice even deeper than normal. 

Nick shivered a bit, but he tried to cover it up with a jaunty wink. "I expect you to touch."

He straddled Harry, giving his best undulating moves, just so Harry could touch. For his part, Harry kept his hands on Nick's legs, dragging his bloody big palms up and down the bare skin.

"Love the hair," Harry said, brushing the hair on Nick's thighs. "I keep mostly waxed for the job, but there's something about hair, isn't there?"

"You'll like this, then." Nick set about unbuttoning the top of his shirt. Well. The top of his shirt that was buttoned. He didn't button very much, but it was enough to hide the tufts of chest hair underneath. And sure enough, Harry's eyes darkened at the sight. "So how am I doing?"

"You want my professional opinion?"

"Of course. Need to shape up my act somehow."

"Think I'd rather see the whole thing, first." Harry grinned, waggling his eyebrows a bit.

"Hmm. Think I need incentive to go all the way." Nick nodded at Harry. "Shirt off. No need to put on a show."

Harry took off his shirt like any man in the process of getting shagged: quickly, with no fuss, and possibly a little clumsy. Nick bit his lip and tried to ignore how his cock took interest in that. He'd liked Harry at the show, but something about seeing beyond the artifice made it hard to hold back.

Also, Harry was so incredibly fit. That never hurt.

"Your turn," Harry said.

Nick grinned and went back to unbuttoning his shirt. He hummed tunelessly under his breath - not that music made a difference, since he always had a problem translating his sense of the beat into movement - and shook his shoulders a little to give it some visual interest. Once his shirt was loose, he pulled it open in one dramatic motion and threw his head back.

He startled a bit when he felt Harry's hands move from Nick's legs to his stomach and chest, but it was a good sensation. Especially when Harry grazed Nick's nipples just the barest amount.

It wasn't just Nick getting excited, though. Harry was starting to firm up against Nick's hips. Nick gave him a cursory grind, intending to roll off to get to the rest of the stripping, when Harry suddenly grabbed at Nick's arse and rocked back, groaning a bit. Nick rocked back a couple more times, both to give Harry some friction and to bring his own cock from "interested" to "definitely involved", and then he rolled off.

Harry looked a bit wrecked. His eyes were dark and intense, his hair was a bit ruffled, and his cheeks were flushed. Well done, Grimshaw.

"Your turn," Nick said, stretching out so his legs were on full display. He meant his words to be cheeky, but he was breathing hard, so it ruined the effect a bit.

Harry was wearing skinny jeans, but Nick never would have known it by the way he rolled them off, revealing underpants made tight by Harry's erection.

"Nick," Harry said, eyes roaming up and down him freely. "I want you."

Lord, but there was little better than hearing that. Nick ran one of his hands over his clothed cock, making sure to show off how big his hands were, and maybe his own eyes fluttered shut at the sensation, but when he opened them again, Harry was crawling on top of him.

Nick stopped him from what looked like a kiss with a hand. "If you want to fuck my brains out," he said, "we might have a better time in the bedroom."

"Mmm," Harry agreed, but he leaned forward anyway, and Nick had no interest in stopping him.

When their lips made contact, and heat shot through Nick, he held back from coming only thanks to years of experience. He hadn't even come from kissing as a teenager, and here he was, barely touching Harry because the sensation of their skin together would definitely be more than he could handle.

Harry seemed nearly as desperate, but he seemed to respond by grabbing onto Nick hard enough that he'd probably be bruised. Nick definitely wasn't opposed.

When Harry switched from kissing on the mouth to kissing Nick's neck, Nick said, "Bed, please. 'M too...too old for this."

Nick wasn't entirely sure what he was talking about - his back on the sofa, coming so quickly and not being young enough to go again for a bit, or just the idea of clinging to some part of his dignity - but Harry drew back with a grin.

"Bed it is," Harry said. He rolled off Nick and offered him a hand. "But I get to blow you when we get there."

"Uh." Was this something Nick was supposed to say no to? Then again, he wanted to see Harry's cock and not really wait for it. As he let Harry help him to his feet, Nick said, "Maybe we can split the difference? It's possible for us to do it at the same time."

Harry looked surprised, but pleasantly so. "Can't say I've done that in a while."

Nick led the way to the bedroom, but on the way, he said, "Oh yes, in your decades of sexual experience."

"I'm older than I look, what can I say." When Harry crossed into Nick's bedroom, he said, "Wait, you're missing something."

Nick, who was on his way to his bedside table to get condoms, paused. "What?"

"You didn't finish taking off your clothes. You know how it ends."

Nick did. Onstage, Harry and his fellow lads had what seemed like an endless supply of tearaway briefs, which they lost when their backs were turned to the audience so everyone could get an eyeful of naked arse. But Nick didn't exactly have a million briefs stashed away, so with a laugh at himself in advance, he hooked his fingers in the band of his own boxer briefs and pushed them down so they rested just under the cheeks of his own arse.

"Think that's earned me some applause," Nick said.

"Maybe when I get to see the other side." Harry rushed up, patted Nick's arse, and bounced onto Nick's bed. "But you've got potential."

Nick smirked. He could always feel a good smirk on his face. "If the radio falls through, you'll be my first call."

Chucking the boxer briefs away, he climbed onto the bed with Harry. He opted not to flip so their cocks were in each other's faces just yet; there was more kissing to be done in a more comfortable place. Harry didn't seem opposed, especially when Nick teased at Harry's hair with his fingers.

"Tug," Harry muttered against Nick's mouth. "I like it."

Nick pulled his face far enough back that he could see Harry's a bit better before he pulled, but when he did, he got the eye-fluttering spectacle he'd hoped for.

"Why aren't you naked?" Nick asked. Harry might as well have been, considering how tight his briefs were and how obscene his cock was through them, but Nick wanted it all.

Luckily, Harry seemed to want everything as well. He tugged off his briefs with no finesse and kicked them off the bed. His cock was flushed and leaking, and Nick couldn't wait anymore.

He handed Harry one of the condoms he'd taken out of his bedside drawer and scooted down the bed.

If Harry gave him a few more moments, he would have shown Harry how fast and efficient he was at putting condoms on properly, but Harry completely showed him up by rolling his condom onto Nick's cock with his fucking _mouth_. Nick nearly ripped his condom in half, wrapper and all, from surprise.

"You could warn a man," Nick said, both laughing and incredibly turned on. His hands were shaking.

Harry smirked, unrepentant. "Want me to unwrap that for you?"

Nick playfully smacked at Harry's reaching hand and went back to work. He was still laughing when he unwrapped his condom, and it took every effort to put it on Harry's - lovely, huge, flushed - cock with some measure of grace. Harry let him without doing more than loosely stroking Nick's cock, but the second the condom was in place on Harry's cock, Harry went for it. And of course he was being a bloody _show-off_ , taking Nick deep and humming.

It was probably the most grateful Nick had ever been for decreased sensitivity in his life.

"E...excuse me," Nick said, tapping Harry's arm. "Shouldn't you be watching your voice? Your job does involve singing, after all."

Harry bobbed his head a couple of times before popping off, lips already red and a bit swollen. "Mmm," he said, voice thick. "Got some time before my next show. Think I fancy...oh, oh _fuck_. _Nick_."

Nick had taken the diversion to do his own oral gymnastics, giving Harry a taste of his own medicine with Nick's best suction. But only for a moment. He went down as fast as he dared before moving back to tease at the head of Harry's cock with his tongue. Nick watched Harry's toes curl with sadistic glee.

"All right?" Nick asked innocently.

Harry's eyes were glassy as he brushed sweaty hair out of his face. "You're the one who has to be on the radio tomorrow."

He wasn't wrong. Luckily, Nick didn't fancy getting complicated when he had to contend with the taste of latex.

"Hmm," he said. "Guess I'll just have to go slow, then."

They both started sucking at each other at nearly the same time, and Nick had the same problem he always had during sixty-nining: coordination. The parts on their own were simple. Nick had a bottle of lube handy that he used to jerk the base of Harry's cock. Fine. Nick took the top of Harry's cock into his mouth. Also good. Harry was...well, too talented with his tongue by half, but again, Nick could manage to keep from coming until he was satisfied that Harry was close. He had practise.

But juggling it all at once was a bit much. Nick would jerk Harry for a second before he'd realise his mouth wasn't doing a thing. Or he would get his mouth going and have to stop because he could feel his cock jerking in its particular way in the warm heat of Harry's mouth. And then his hand would stop again. It was a problem.

Although, Harry did stop working at one point to gasp, " _Tease_." The word practically sang with delight. Nick would have taken time to joke about taking credit for it, but all he could do was moan around the head of Harry's cock because of the way Harry was now playing with Nick's cock.

Two could play at that game.

Nick slicked the tips of his free hand and pressed the pads gently around the outside of Harry's hole. He didn't want to finger Harry without talking about it first, so even though it was something his fingers were basically made for, he thought he'd just go for a little sensation. He didn't think it would do much, but Harry gasped something that sounded like "Coming", and then he was. Nick pulled his mouth off, grinning triumphantly as Harry filled his condom.

"And my voice is still intact," Nick said happily. "I think...oh, _oh_."

Harry, apparently, had no urge to bask in afterglow, despite the fact that Nick fully expected to jerk himself to completion. Which would have happened in about two seconds. Not that Nick would have minded if it had taken longer. But Harry, who hadn't seemed to be holding much back before, gave up any pretense of drawing it out, and licked Nick's cock with abandon. Nick gave himself up to it, coming so hard he blacked out for a few moments.

When he came back, Harry was face-to-face with him again. Both their condoms were gone, which suggested Harry had taken care of them, but Harry looked so wrecked and pleased that Nick didn't know how he'd managed to move at all.

"I'm keeping you," Harry said decidedly, drawing Nick close.

"In a serial killer way, or in a 'I'd like to see you again' way?" Nick asked.

"Mmm. Probably the second."

"Mmm," Nick agreed, laughing again.

-

**Six months later**

Nick didn't know how it was that he was sad about seeing Harry's dressing room for the last time, but he was.

It had been a second - or third, if Radio 1 was second - home over the last few months. A lot had happened in that time. Nick and Harry going from undefined frequent contact to boyfriendy frequent contact. Nick working on the X Factor and seeing Harry less than he would like. Zayn leaving Boyband for greener pastures. The remaining lads deciding to pack it in, and their show's producer also deciding to close the show instead of recast. Apparently, clumsy lads who sang and took their clothes off were a hard dynamic to replicate. Nick could only imagine.

He and Daisy waited by themselves in the dressing room, watching a monitor instead of the show itself. They were on fire tonight (figuratively - Nick was very glad their show involved no onstage pyrotechnics). When they did their last number, both Nick and Daisy went backstage and waited.

Nick wasn't sure if roses were an appropriate closing-night gift at a strip show, but he appeared with them the moment the four lads onstage went into a bow. When they rose again, Harry beamed and ran toward Nick in his odd, prancing way. Nick presented the roses grandly.

"To the future," Nick said as Harry accepted the roses.

Harry kissed Nick. "To the future," he whispered in his ear after.


End file.
